1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to light emitting apparatuses and light emitting systems. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to an improved light emitting apparatus with pixels for use in various industries.
2. Background Art
Display units for entertainment, architectural, and advertising purposes have commonly been constructed of numbers of light emitting elements, such as light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) or incandescent lamps mounted onto flat panels. These light emitting elements may be selectively turned on and off to create patterns, graphics, and video displays for both informational and aesthetic purposes. It is well known to construct these displays of tiles or large panels, each containing several light emitting elements, which may be assembled in position for an entertainment show or event, or as an architectural or advertising display. Examples of such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,813,853, 6,704,989, 6,677,918, and 6,314,669.
As the LED video market expands into new domains, the classic fixed structure of the LED video panel may become a limitation. Designers, architects, and advertisers may desire the flexibility and versatility to use only one or a few products within the rapidly changing environment of the modem era. For example, a panel or modular box system may work well in a stadium score board or as an advertisement on the Las Vegas Strip, but the large panels may have limitations on transparency and weight.
As such, there may be a requirement at an event or within a theatrical production to use a display system that is easily removable, for example, in between scenes of a play or as the needs of the production may dictate. A display apparatus constructed as a large panel or as a series of solid tiles bolted or permanently fixed together may be very inappropriate for such an application or need. The displays may be large and heavy, and require abundant support machinery, time, and storage space for installation. For example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,989, issued to Lutz, an electronic signal display system requires the individual display sections be lifted out of storage cases with a lifting truss and then joined and stacked appropriately for display.
To improve upon these limitations, as described above, many existing products are being developed with a degree of transparency and to weigh less than their panel based counterparts. An example of such a prior art display apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,918, issued to Tokimoto, and incorporated by reference.
Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a prior art display apparatus 101 is shown. Display apparatus 101 includes two posts 103 at each end of display apparatus 101 with parallel and uniformly spaced beams 105 attached thereto. Each beam 105 then includes multiple pixels 107 disposed thereon with uniform spacing between each of beams 105.
However, several limitations may still prevent full usefulness of the prior art display apparatus. The display apparatus may still be overly cumbersome in weight. Next, the transparency of the apparatus may still be improved to decrease their visibility when not in use. Further, the rigging of the display apparatus may make it difficult assemble and/or disassemble the display system before and after use. Accordingly, there exists a need for a display apparatus and a display system that improves upon these prior art displays for continued development and success within the various light emitting industries.